March 15, 2013 - Make a Fist

Sometimes I wonder if I will ever get to a place where I don't have to deal with being hungry? I am a big eater and I love to eat.....bad combination. I wish I had one of those "little girl" appetites, but somehow when those were assigned I must have been in the food line singing "here we stand like birds in the wilderness waiting to be fed." (did you ever sing that at camp?) Having a tiny appetite or being one of "those girls" who have to remind themselves to eat would have been so beneficial to me. Yes, it would. But again, not only do I remember to eat I have to fight the urge to consume abundantly. Even great foods can be consumed in extravagant proportions and cause us issues. Just recently I ate so much fruit at one sitting I almost got sick. That's just wrong. The whole time I was smiling and thinking, "these fruits are rare, native and scrumptious. I may never eat things like this again and they are ONLY fruits. Right?" Then, I proceeded to act as if I had never eaten before (even though I was really hungry due to missing dinner the previous evening) and quickly realized I had pushed the boundaries and my body was responding negatively. Now maybe you're thinking, "really, it's just fruit." True - and in another season of my life it would have been brownies or a candy bar, but our stomachs are only designed to hold a limited amount of whatever. Did you know your stomach is about the size of your fist? Try it. Make a fist and get a picture. Then think of the last meal you consumed fitting into that pouch. Does it work? Does it fit easily? Eye opening isn't it? So when we use the phrase, "I'm so stuffed," what we mean is our pouch is crammed full and our stomach is screaming STOP! Let's use the fist visual to help keep us from reaching the stuffed phase, which ultimately stretches our pouch and allows more food and calories to be ingested. This can ultimately lead to increased weight. Let's remember - we can eat again, there is plenty, and my stomach is really fairly small. Maybe as a means of not overeating, we make a fist before each meal and determine if the items on our plate will fit easily. If not, remove a few things. Discipline 101 this Friday morning. Enjoy the sunshine and choose well this weekend. Let the fist be your guide. PK